Mr and Mrs Andrews (c. 1750)
National Gallery, London
Newly married couple beside a Suffolk cornfield; Mrs Andrews's lap is left unpainted
Image: Thomas Gainsborough · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Art
Thomas Gainsborough
1727–1788 · English
Rococo / Georgian portraiture
Thomas Gainsborough was a Suffolk-born portrait and landscape painter and a founder member of the Royal Academy. The great rival of Sir Joshua Reynolds, he combined fashionable society portraits with a love of landscape, and his feathery, shimmering brushwork makes his sitters seem to breathe.
How to spot them
- ▸Elegant Georgian sitters posed outdoors in English countryside, painted with light, feathery brushstrokes
- ▸Shimmering silks and satins – the blue costume of The Blue Boy is the classic image
- ▸Quiz clue: born in Sudbury, Suffolk; rival of Reynolds; worked in Bath then London
Key works
The Blue Boy (c. 1770)
Huntington Library, San Marino, California
Sold to Henry Huntington in 1921; lent back to the National Gallery in 2022, a century after it left
Image: Thomas Gainsborough · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Mr and Mrs William Hallett (The Morning Walk) (1785)
National Gallery, London
A young couple strolling through woodland with their dog
Image: Thomas Gainsborough · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
The Painter's Daughters Chasing a Butterfly (c. 1756)
National Gallery, London
Tender, sketch-like portrait of his daughters Mary and Margaret
Image: Thomas Gainsborough · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Mrs Sarah Siddons (1785)
National Gallery, London
The great tragic actress in a blue-striped dress and a vast black hat
Quick-fire facts
- •Born in Sudbury, Suffolk, in 1727; his birthplace is now the museum Gainsborough's House.
- •He was a founder member of the Royal Academy in 1768.
- •He moved to Bath in 1759 and settled in London in 1774.
- •His chief rival was Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first President of the Royal Academy.
- •He became a favourite painter of George III and Queen Charlotte.
- •His reported last words were: 'We are all going to Heaven, and Van Dyck is of the company.'
- •The Blue Boy has traditionally been identified as Jonathan Buttall, son of a hardware merchant.
Drill it — 9 cards
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Sources
- National Gallery, London — Mr and Mrs Andrews – Thomas Gainsborough
- National Gallery, London — Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788)